Get started with an activity you enjoy

Jan. 18, 2013

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Getting started can be the biggest challenge with any diet and exercise program, experts say.

Start out by evaluating what you are already doing, suggests Shelly Hoefs, a certified wellness and fitness coach with Sanford Women’s.

“Then go on to the next step, choosing a step you believe you can do,” she says.

Many people fall into the trap of comparing themselves to others, and the whole enterprise can become overwhelming. They feel defeated before they even start, Hoefs says.

Tips for getting started

■ Incorporate an activity you enjoy doing. If you have trouble identifying one, think about your childhood. Did you enjoy swimming, playing ball, riding bikes, playing fetch with the dog? Modify the activity and absorb it into your life. If the movement comes naturally and is enjoyable, you’ll be less likely to view it as exercise.

■ Start thinking of moving your body instead of exercising. There are ways to get a workout without going to the gym. Shoveling snow, cleaning the house, mopping floors, climbing stairs, mowing the lawn, gardening and playing with your kids are all types of functional exercise that help keep a person active and require no specialized equipment.

■ If you want to increase physical activity, don’t decide to run four miles five times a week if you have been sedentary for years. You’ll end up hurting yourself, hating the exercise and unwilling to try again. Instead, go slow and low — try adding 10 minutes of exercise to your routine three times a week, performing it at a low intensity to work into the movement.

■ Thirty minutes of exercise seems to be the magic amount it takes to start seeing results, says Rachel Breidenbach, exercise specialist/personal trainer at Sanford Wellness Center. But you can break the time into smaller chunks. Walk, run or jog 10 minutes in the morning before work, take 10 minutes at lunch to walk around the block, and do another 10 minutes after work to clear your head.

■ If 30 minutes is not feasible, start with 10 minutes of activity. Gradually add five minutes at a time as you get more comfortable. Change the intensity and duration of the workout to challenge yourself. Start strength training to build muscle and burn more calories.

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■ Some people get caught in the trap of exercising just so they can have another cookie, Breidenbach says. Remember that what you take in has to be less than what you burn to lose weight. Even if you are already exercising, diet is 75 percent to 80 percent of weight loss and weight control, she adds.

Conquer emotional pitfalls

Emotional roadblocks can short circuit the best intentions, Hoefs says.

“There’s the all-or-nothing thinking,” she says, when people think that because they can’t devote an hour to exercise, they’ll just skip it entirely.

Or they may have a good idea for exercise, but it doesn’t go well, and they throw the whole idea away. Instead, reflect on what didn’t go well, and tweak it — maybe do it less strenuously, or at a different time. Make a plan and a back-up plan if the first one doesn’t go well.

Go easy on yourself, Hoefs urges. “Follow the 80/20 rule: Eighty percent of the time I’ll be consistent, and 20 percent of the time I’ll give myself a break,” she says.

Negative self-talk can hold a person back. When we think we aren’t good enough or we compare ourselves to others, we come up short. So reframe the self-talk. Say instead, Hoefs suggests: “This is me, I did this.”

Be proud. “It builds the belief that I can do it and keep going,” she says.

And be patient. It takes time to drop old habits and build new ones.

The same ideas can work for diet changes, too. If you want to improve your eating habits, take it one step at a time, Hoefs says.

Don’t eliminate all chocolate, stop drinking wine and refuse carbohydrates. Too many changes too fast will doom you to failure, she says.

Go slow, and “make it doable.” Start with your usual 3 p.m. snack, for example. If you always have a Coke, start having an apple instead for a healthy choice.

If you want to cut back on your soda intake, stop drinking soda Monday through Friday, but give yourself permission to have soda one or two days a week. Then gradually eliminate those days.

Try introducing one new food or vegetable every two weeks. If you rarely have dinner together as a family, aim for one night a week. When it works out, celebrate the victory.